Time will tell if new high school transfer policies a good thing

Rules changes went into effect July 1

Christian Munro couldn't play water polo last year after transferring… (Robert Duyos, Sun Sentinel )

July 14, 2012|By Christy Cabrera Chirinos, Sun Sentinel

For high school swimmer and water polo player Christian Munro, legislation designed to help athletes who transfer keep their eligibility came a year too late.

Last October, Munro left St. Andrew's School in Boca Raton to enroll at nearby Spanish River.

He and his mother learned shortly thereafter their decision would keep Munro out of the pool for an entire school year. In years past, Florida High School Athletic Association policy 9.3.2 stated transfer students were deemed ineligible for an entire school year unless they met one of five exceptions.

As of July 1, a number of FHSAA policies changed as a result of House Bill 1403 that was passed this spring by the state legislature. Now, as long as a transfer happens before an athlete's season begins and the transfer has been approved according to school district policies, the athlete remains eligible.

Supporters say the changes will make it easier for students with legitimate transfers to keep their eligibility while critics worry the more liberal policy will make high school athletes the newest free agents in the sports world.

More than 800,000 students participate in high school sports in Florida. Today, those athletes and many of their coaches and athletic directors are waiting to see how the new guidelines affect them.

Munro said he believes the law—which also changes how the FHSAA carries out investigations and punishes recruiting—will help more students than it hurts.

"I'm sure there's going to be some recruiting, but the old policies were so broad," said Munro, a junior this fall who will be swimming for Spanish River. "They hurt kids that didn't do anything wrong. There are kids that weren't recruited that are going to be able to play now."

Bill Caruso oversees one of the state's biggest athletic departments at Cypress Bay in Weston. He said that while overcrowding limits the number of transfer students allowed into his school, he's still trying to learn more about the legislation.

"We may not have to deal with it at all because we're a closed campus and unless there's an extenuating circumstance, we haven't had transfers come in the past few years," he said. "I really haven't studied [the new policies] enough to have an opinion on how it will impact us."

While the state association vocally opposed the bill's passage, it still has to implement the changes.

"We're going to make lemonade out of lemons," Roger Dearing, executive director of the FHSAA told the Sun Sentinel this spring. "We're going to take the statutes, word for word, and have the board make policies. Ninety-nine percent of our coaches are honest and believe in moral integrity. Some are enamored with winning at any cost, and they'll still violate the rules. It sends the wrong message. But we're going to try and enforce the rules as best we can and try to keep a level playing field for all our student-athletes."

To aid school administrators, many of whom are still trying to understand the new rules, the FHSAA sent out a memorandum in late June that touched on a wide variety of topics including transfers and recruiting.

In regard to recruiting violations the memo states: HB1403 requires that no student be ruled "ineligible" as a result of being recruited; instead, sanctions may be assessed directly against the school's coach involved in the recruiting violation AND sanctions may be placed upon the school. Students will remain eligible unless the student falsified information or accepted a promise of benefits.

Lawmakers contended the changes were necessary and that many of the FHSAA's older policies put young athletes in a tough position. They worried the FHSAA asked students to prove their innocence and punished them for violations committed by adults.

Lee Munro, Christian's mother, agrees.

This spring, she e-mailed State Rep. Kelli Stargel, one of the bill's authors and shared her son's experience. When she heard the bill was passed, Lee Munro was thrilled, even if it wouldn't help Christian.

"We had no idea any of this would happen," Lee Munro said. "If I would've known he wouldn't be able to play, I never would have moved him. We would've dealt with things for one more year. I thought there was so much that was unfair, including how [the FHSAA] targeted kids and not coaches. I was behind the legislature 100 percent."